Melanie Ravenswood
Melanie Ravenswood is a female ghost currently haunting Phantom Manor. Description Melanie usually appears as her young self, a beautiful young woman wearing a wedding gown. She is confined to Phantom Manor by her insane father the Phantom, though a loophole in the Curse now allows her to also visit the Haunted Mansion, finding much-needed rest in the company of Emily. She is charming and graceful with an unusual singing voice. Biography Early Life Melanie Ravenswood was born to Henry Ravenswood and his wife Martha in the Western town of Thunder Mesa. She had a mostly happy childhood (in spite of her father's overprotectiveness), sharing a misechievous friendship with the servants Jasper and Anna and learning to shoot and draw. Her father hoped to make her into a perfect high-society young lady, and sent her for six months in Paris when she approached adulthood. Return to America and Engagement When Melanie returned, being away from her father's noxious influence had done her a world of good. Her eyes open on her father's arrogance and ruthlessness in his treatment of the mine workers, she even fell in love with one of them, the intelligent but poor Jonathan Jake. Disapproving of the wedding, Henry tried to forbid it. He also tried to keep her away from her mother Martha, who had been turned paralytic and depressive in an accident. After Henry died in a freak earthquake, taking Martha with her, Melanie and Jonathan planned to leave Thunder Mesa and start life anew. However, Henry's ghost, now known as the Phantom, returned to crash the wedding, murdering Melanie's groom. Torment, Death and Further Torment In the later years, Melanie was confined to the Manor by her father's tormenting spirit. After the collapse of the Big Thunder Company caused by Henry's death and the reclusive Melanie's supposed insanity, Thunder Mesa, meanwhile, progressively became a ghost town as the last old inhabitants died. Melanie eventually died of a mixture of old age and heartbreak. Her ghost would not be any freer than she had been in life, however, and the Phantom barely acknowledged the change. Disneyland Paris Many years later however, the Disney Imagineers moved the whole deserted town of Thunder Mesa to Disneyland Paris to theme a part of the park with an American Old West ambience. Thanks to the curse, the manor could only be moved in its entirety -- all the mortals' best efforts could not chase the ghosts away. So they decided to adapt a Doombuggy system to "Phantom Manor" and make it into the park's haunted house ride, hoping for the best. Contacts with the Haunted Mansion Through the Disney Imagineers, the denizens of Phantom Manor came into contact with the Haunted Mansion. To his horror, the Phantom discovered that the magic of the Mansion was enough to trump his own curse, allowing Melanie to go visit the Mansion — though she still can't step outside its borders — and find much-needed respie through the friendship of other ghost brides, Emily chief among them. Index Index of Stories Featuring Melanie Ravenswood Origins Melanie Ravenswood is a First-Level Canon Character, as he appears prominently in the Phantom Manor ride. Category:Characters Database Category:Female Category:Ghost Category:Ravenswood family Category:Canon Character